


Intergalactic Aid Liaison looks impressive on a resume (but that's not why she does it).

by tgecko



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Darcy is uniquely qualified, Darcyland (Marvel), I Don't Even Know, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Who knows where this is going, maybe Darcy/Thor, maybe Darcy/Valkyrie, maybe Taser Tricks, no ships planned anyway, no ships yet, rise of an intern, you don't know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-02-11 07:54:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12930867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tgecko/pseuds/tgecko
Summary: ***SPOILERS AHEAD***Darcy's uniquely qualified to help the thousands of Asgardian refugees seeking asylum.  She's semi-knowledgeable about their culture, she's got this degree in Political Science that's been gathering dust, and she's got friends in high places.All she's done is be herself.  Yet somehow, the choices she's made have lead to this point in time, putting her in a place where she is probably the only person on Earth who can help her friend navigate the tumultuous political climate and receive the aid his people need.





	1. Darcy is uniquely qualified for a job that no one knew would exist.

**Author's Note:**

> This is kind of independent of the current OT3 with Darcy/Wade/Bucky, and is meant to address the questions that I had at the end of Thor: Ragnarok. I have always liked the idea of Darcy as liaison between Earth and Asgard. So here, *waves hand* more Darcy-related stuff.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after Thor: the Dark World

It’s a long road that starts with a single step.

 That step is making friends with Heimdall, one drool-worthy figure of a man with a deep voice and gold eyes that match his golden armor.  (Though when talking about Asgardians in general, calling them drool-worthy seemed to be redundant.  What did they do with unattractive Asgardians, shove them down a well somewhere?) 

 Darcy doesn’t do it from any ulterior motive.  She had no clue it would be the first step on a long road to where she is now.  She just thinks, damn, that must be a lonely job.  So when Thor wants to take them on a tour of all Asgard has to offer, Darcy pleads jet lag, or Bifrost lag, or whatever, and gives him her best “pity the poor frail Midgardian so overwhelmed by all this beauty and splendor” look, fluttering her eyelashes.  Behind him, Jane rolls her eyes, but Darcy had already planted the seeds of “oh gosh, how romantic this place is” and “imagine a moonlit stroll through the garden or whatever the spacefaring equivalent is here,” basically dropping all the hints that she is just fine and hunky-dorey if Jane wants to take off and be all lovey-dovey with Thor.

 The side benefit is that she’s free to load her overlarge purse (messenger bag, really, wearing the guise of a purse like a wolf wearing a wool coat was a sheep) with the bottles of mysterious liquid in what must be the mini bar in her room, as well as an assortment of various fruits.  Then she’s making her way down the rainbow bridge, taking plenty of time to admire the way the bridge sparkles in the light and the sight of the cityscape behind her.

 “This place is amazeballs,” she tells the golden-eyed guardian of the bridge, who has been watching her approach with a bemused smile.  “But then I guess you knew that already, huh?”

 Heimdall nods, keeping his gaze on hers as she flops down on the lowest step of his dias, digging through her bag and emerging triumphantly with a bottle and a large round fruit.  “The splendor of Asgard is a point of pride amongst its people,” he agrees, stepping down from the highest tier to take a seat next to her.  He removes his helmet and sets it on the ground next to his feet before accepting the offering of fruit and drink.

 “You’re going to have to let me know what’s okay for me to drink.  I don’t want to spend my first trip to Asgard completely wasted; this isn’t South Padre.” 

 His smile grows the slightest bit deeper.  “The sustenance provided to your quarters was carefully selected for Midgardian audiences.  You may indulge yourself without fear of any adverse effects.”  As if to prove his words, he uncorks the bottle and hands it back to her.

 “Cool beans.”  Darcy takes a swig from the bottle, rolling the taste around her mouth thoughtfully.  “Kinda like fizzy orange juice.”  She nudges her purse with her foot, the bottles inside clinking together.  “Go ahead and help yourself.  It must be hella boring having to stand out here all alone.”

 “So you spend your time here trying to ease my supposed loneliness?”  He chuckles with good humor, pulling another bottle from her bag.  “You have the entirety of Asgard waiting for you, and you chose to spend it on the outskirts looking in.”

 Darcy shrugs, taking another swig of the fizzy, fruity drink.  “That’s kinda my M.O., yeah.  But isn’t this-“ she waves the bottle in her hand around, indicating the circular room with the many wheels and gears decorating the walls- “just as amazing as that out there?”  She asks as the bottle swings around to the city in the distance.  “I’m honestly surprised that Jane isn’t here picking your brain about how the whole thing works.  She must be working her way around to it.”

 “Perhaps so.” Heimdall says, a non-committal reply before he tugs the cork from the bottle with his teeth and spits it across the room.  She flashes a wide grin and tilts her bottle until it meets his with a firm ‘clink.’  They drink together and snack on the food Darcy’s brought while she asks endless questions to satisfy her bottomless curiosity.  Heimdall answers with good humor, but asks no questions of his own. 

 Eventually, through her relentless questioning, she manages to uncover the fact that she is the only person to visit him just for the sake of visiting.  “Really?” She squeaks, choking on a swig of fizzy drink and coughing so hard that he reaches out to pat her on the back.  Once she calms down, she glances sideways at him.  “Damn, that just sounds boring as hell.  I’m sorry, buddy, but seriously.  Do you ever get any time off from being…”  She waves a hand ineffectually in a random gesture that means nothing but encompasses everything around them. “You?”

  He blinks in surprise at her question, the all-seeing god seemingly dumbfounded at the simple thought of taking a vacation.  “I remain vigil to protect my land and her people from any threat,” he says slowly, as if Darcy were the biggest fool to ever live for thinking that he would do something as simple as take a day off. 

 “All right, fair enough.”  She shrugs.  “However, I want to point out that your mental fortitude has to be absolutely mind blowing to have kept this job for so long.  I probably would have run screaming from boredom within the first week.  Here, tell you what.  I don’t know how often Jane’s going to be making her jaunts up here, and I don’t know if she’s going to let me tag along on every one, but-“ the smaller woman touches her bottle to the gatekeeper’s again, the clink rebounding around the room like an oath, “whenever I come here, I’ll make sure to drop by and hang out, okay?”

 Heimdall knows that words don’t have the same power with Midgardians as they do with his people.  They can break a promise easily, they have forgotten how to make a truly binding oath or geas.  Despite this, he can’t help but feel that Darcy’s words ring true.  He knows that if he truly wishes for her companionship during her stays here, she will give it without fail.  Not from any magical binding or geas, but because she wants to be with him and likes his company.

 He smiles down at her, giving the slightest of nods.  “If that is what you wish, Darcy Lewis, I will accept your offer.”

 She blushes and turns away slightly, hiding her discomfort.  “Just Darcy is fine.  It’d be nice to have a friend here.  I don’t want to be riding Jane’s coat tails forever.”

 “I highly doubt that those who know you think you a mere vassal of Jane Foster,” he replies, grinning as she rolls her eyes and waves her hand as if to dismiss her concerns.

 “Whatever.  Don’t make this awkward, home slice.”  She smirks into her bottle, silently cheering in victory at making her own small stamp on this grandiose and wonderful landscape. 


	2. Besties before the Resties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Thor: Ragnarok and Spiderman: Homecoming spoilers)  
> Takes place after Thor: Ragnarok.

Jane breaks up with Thor, and it's awkward.  Soooo awkward.  Like a convention of Socially Awkward Penguins assembling at a convention center with almost the same name as the one that had the actual reservation, but there was another convention of Socially Awesome Penguins at  _this_ convention center.  And the Socially Awesome Penguins are fine with the party crashers, but they all mispronounce the Socially Awkward Penguins' names just slightly and the mis-named Penguins are too embarrassed to correct them.  

And all the Socially Awkward Penguins are dressed in casual clothes while the Socially Awesome Penguins are dressed in semi-formal and look  _amazing._

 _That' s_ how awkward their breakup is.  

When Jane breaks the news, Darcy arranges for a girl's night in, with the pseudo-scientific documentaries that she loves to yell at, the cheap boxed wine that's her guilty favorite, and All.  The.  Cookies.  She tucks the little bit of her that's going to miss being friends with Thor into a teeny tiny box in the back of her mind and flops onto Jane's couch.  

Besties before the Resties, that's her motto.

"He's kind of a jerk," Darcy starts, pouring some wine into a coffee cup labeled "STEM-inist" and handing it over.  Darcy likes to catch a quick rebound one-night stand or two, to clear her head.  Jane, on the other hand, wants to be reassured that she made the right decision.  So now Darcy has to try and make up flaws about Jane's previous flaxen-haired beau or find a way to turn pros into cons.  "He did kind of ignore you during the whole New York thing.  And for like two years after.  You're telling me that he didn't have five minutes to turn to the nearest phone or whatever to tell you that he was here and he was okay?"

Jane shrugs, taking a deep swallow from the offered mug and glaring at it's suddenly diminished contents.  "He didn't exactly have my number."

"He had Tony Stark!"  Darcy waves her arm in a wild gesture that means everything and nothing.  "And SHIELD!  Are you telling me that between the world's most geniusy billionaire and the shadowy secret organization that stole your research before you even knew what it meant had no way to contact you?  Or that the best way to deal with it was to swoop you away to Norway?"  Now Darcy is getting agitated on Jane's behalf.  One day she had turned around and her best friend was in Norway while she was watching the skies open up on national television.  Jane had been gone for weeks, and when the small scientist came back, there was a blankness to the woman that she hated.  Jane'd had her world changed and then suddenly the magic had been cut off.  It was hard, trying to figure out how to help her friend find the light in her eyes again.

Said friend downs the rest of her wine and thrusts the mug out at Darcy.  "I didn't think about that," Jane mutters, a spark of life returning to her gaze as she watches the deep red liquid fill her mug.  

Darcy nods, pouring herself some wine and chugging it quickly to catch up to Jane.  "And, and!"  She took another large swallow.  "After he fought off the aliens and grabbed the Chitauri?  He had the Bifrost again!  He couldn't pop down for a weekend to say hi and catch up?  The man simply does not know how to make long distance relationships work."

"Or maybe I just wasn't worth the effort," Jane mutters glumly.  "Any Asgardian would love to be with him."  She burrows further down into herself, until her shoulders are hunched around her ears.  "Maybe I broke up with him and we weren't even dating.  He just humored me to be nice about it."  She finishes off the rest of her mug and holds it out to Darcy imperatively.

"Uh, no."  Darcy pulls the boxed wine away from Jane, stretching her arm back over the far arm of the couch and away from her friend's pleading puppy eyes.  "He was totally crazy for you, Jane.  Like, doodling your name with his in notebooks with squiggly hearts around them."  Darcy's words reignite a bit of spark in the scientist, and she unhunches just a little bit, her shoulders now level with her chin instead of her ears.  "He liked you.  Weird, cute, hyper-focused, science-obsessed you."

Jane laughs at that and Darcy relaxes enough to put the box of wine down on the coffee table between them.  "You really think so?"

Darcy nods firmly, sipping from her mug.  (Hers reads 'World's Okayest Employee' and it's her favorite gift from Jane.)  "I know so."

Jane mulls over this for a few minutes, her attention focused on but not quite seeing the documentary on the tv.  Just when Darcy thinks the worst of it might be over, Jane groans and flops back against the other arm of the couch, the mug in her hand thankfully empty as she lets the hand holding it fall to the ground.  "I should have stuck through it," she moans, heaving a heavy sigh and kicking her heels half-heartedly into Darcy's thighs, a rapid tattoo of misery.  "Whyyyy did you let me break up with him?  If he really did like me that much, maybe we could have made it work!  Tony and Pepper had trouble, but they worked through it!"

Mentally, Darcy screams  _FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUCK_  and tries to think of a way to recover from her unexpected gaff.  "Tony didn't live on another planet," she points out, all the while trying to think of other aspects of Thor's personality that might be turned into flaws.  She watches her bestie mull over Darcy's latest argument and realizes they both have unfortunately empty mugs.  "And he wasn't practically immortal."  She refills them both but makes sure to scoot the box to her end of the coffee table, feeling the floaty tingles in her fingers that means the alcohol is starting to kick in.

Jane is quiet again, and Darcy is halfway through her current drink before her friend lets out a loud wail and smacks herself so hard in the face that Darcy is sure she'll have a black eye tomorrow morning.  "That means I was just a phase!" She cries, and the sight of the tears brimming in her tipsy eyes is like a punch in the gut to Darcy.  "Of course someone who's practically immortal wouldn't be interested in a plain old," she pauses and hiccups in her despiration, " _Midgardian_  like me!"

Darcy grabs Jane's feet before she can start kicking again, pulling them into her lap and holding them there against Jane's frustrated tugs.  "No!"  She tells her friend firmly, the same tone she uses when admonishing a dog for begging for food during dinner.  "Bad Jane, no pity parties!"  

The small scientist sinks into another pout, scowling at Darcy as she half-heartedly tries to pull her feet free from her friend's grasp.  "What else could it be," she moans the question into her mug of wine, the show on the television completely forgotten.

Darcy sighs and tries to pull her floating, marshmallowy mind together.  There's a point that will counteract Jane's, she knows it.  It hovers in the back of her mind, some half-formed thought that has flitted through her mind during her interactions with the other Asgardians.  

Most, if not all of Jane's interactions with Asgardians have been with Thor and to a lesser extent Frigga and Odin.  But during their trips to Asgard, Darcy has spent her time interacting with Thor's friends, and his people.  Jane knows science, in math and physics and a bridge that crosses dimensions.  But Darcy, she knows people.  She might not actively exercise the knowledge she's gained from her political science degree, but she's used it passively while volunteering for non-profits and helping the local politicians with their campaigns whenever she wasn't helping Jane out.  So Darcy tries to put her half-baked thoughts into words that will express the subtle feeling she's had about their otherworldy companions and why Thor would never, never be right for Jane.

"I don't think that's it," Darcy starts out slowly, drawing Jane's attention away from her pity party of one.  "There's something else."  She pauses and meets Jane's wobbly gaze with a furrowed brow.  "Asgardians are, ummm..."  One hand waves in another vague circle.  "One-dimensional?"

Her question is met with a blank look and Darcy sighs, remembering how Jane could calculate complex mathematical equations in her head but she has trouble navigating social situations.  "They were regarded as actual gods, and I think they let that stifle them as a culture.  So every one of them is good at one thing, but that's it.  They're crap at everything else."  Privately, Darcy suspects Jane wouldn't have trouble with social situations in Asgard.  Her friend has the same singular focus as other Asgardians.  Darcy heaves another sigh.  "Jane, they focused on immortality and lost their complexity.  They're cardboard cutouts, no wonder Loki can manipulate them so easily."  She nods to herself, feeling the point coalesce into a coherent argument.  "Even if they are immortal, they're locked into a specific mindset.  Whereas we-" she waves a finger between the two of them, "can learn and grow.  We might not live for thousands upon thousands of years, but we learn and change our way of thinking.  If you really think about it, they would never be able to stand toe to toe with us."

Jane and Darcy breathe out a unanimous sigh as the reality finally hits home for both of them.  They meet each other's gaze for a long moment before Jane blinks and shakes her head, holding out her mug.  The box of wine is emptied between their two mugs, and the women stare at the "Are you still watching?" screen on the television, letting the full impact of the argument settle in their mildly inebriated minds.  They sip from their mugs and watch the screen unblinking until the box of wine has long since been depleted.

"Darcy," Jane is the first one to break the silence.  "Do you really think that?"

The intern-turned-best-friend sighs heavily.  "I really do," she confirms.  

Jane is silent for a long, long time.  "Why?" she finally asks, and her voice when she speaks is small, so small that Darcy wants to rage at whoever gave Jane this inferiority complex.  Then she remembers that it isn't any one person, that Jane has been fighting to be recognized for so, so long, that even when everything is going her way, there will probably always be that small kernel of doubt questioning her good luck.

Darcy thinks about that and she understands the constant rage that the Hulk must feel.

"You are the smartest person I've ever met," she starts, tears suddenly thickening her voice and clogging her throat.  Darcy might not have Hulk's strength, but she has feelings. And god-dammit, she will feels the fuck out of a situation if it will make Jane realize how special she is. Darcy coughs briefly to clear the thickness in her throat, then raises her watery gaze to Jane's.  "And these people who have lived for thousands of years can't even hold a candle to you," she vows.  For all of the breakups that she and Jane have helped each other through, for some reason this is hitting closer to home than the others.  Probably the whole 'princes from another dimension thing' is a factor.  Jane's eyes are just as watery as hers, and she huffs a short laugh through the tears.  "Janey, you broke up with Thor because you outgrew him as a person.  He wasn't your equal, and never would be unless he could grow with you. You made the right choice."

Jane draws in a deep breath and wipes roughly at her face.  Her laugh is shaky and weak, but she still laughs and Darcy knows that her friend has finally weathered the emotional tide of her breakup.  "Thanks, Darcy.  You're the best."

Darcy laughs, pulling herself from the warm embrace of the couch and only wobbling a little bit as the alcohol hits her like a friendly slap on the back.  "Of course!"  She says with enthusiasm as she shoves the empty box of wine in the trash and pulls another one from the fridge.  "That's what you pay me for!"

"I never paid you," Jane counters, raising her mug to Darcy as the other woman flops back onto the couch and drains the last dregs from her mug.  "You are priceless."

"Aww!"  Look, Darcy can't help it if her whole self melts over that sappy phrase.  She gladly refills Jane's mug and tops off her own dry ceramic container.  "Drunk bosses say the bestest things."

Jane takes a huge gulp of the newly refreshed mug of wine, then leans all of her weight into Darcy and stares up at her with wine-dazed eyes.  "Awesome bosses say the bestest things.  And so do awesome friends.  And we are both of those."  She raises her mug and holds it in front of Darcy until the other woman gently bumps her mug against her friend's.  Jane grins triumphantly at Darcy and throws herself across her friend's lap.  "I'm better than him," Jane tells the ceiling, her voice full of awe.  "I deserve better than him."

"Yes, you do," Darcy tells her boss, smiling and patting her shoulder as Jane wiggles until she's achieved the most comfortable position on Darcy's lap.  Privately Darcy rates this as the best breakup she's ever walked Jane through (not that she's led her through many, but this was a Very Important Breakup and Darcy has done a Very Good Job).

Darcy pushes a button on the remote and the Netflix playlist moves to the next documentary on their list.  She strokes Jane's hair for a while, letting the warm feeling sink into them both before she asks the all-important question.

"Can I still be friends with Thor?"

Under her hands, Jane freezes, and Darcy is afraid, so scared, that she will say no.  That the small box in the corner of her mind will have to sit and fester and grow mold.  Then Jane breaths a long sigh and says "yeah, okay" and it's like a vise around Darcy's heart is loosened.  She smiles at no one in particular while she continues to stroke Jane's hair, and is so, so thankful that her friend is a complex Midgardian who grows from their experiences and refuses to be stifled or shoved into a box.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding notes to each chapter as to where in the MCU timeline they take place, since they might be out of order.


	3. The Sokovia Accords are going to happen, whether you like it or not.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy knew about the Sokovia Accords before there even was a Sokovia Accords.  
> A discussion between Tony, Darcy, and Bruce about the upcoming challenges facing the Avengers. This chapter takes place between Avengers:Age of Ultron and Captain America:Civil War. (Chronologically before Chapter 2)

Tony tells them about the Sokovia Accords before there even is a Sokovia Accords. He's fresh from his run-in with the AIM motherfucker who infected Pepper with the virus that makes people explode. New York is still recovering from the Chitauri attack, London is in tatters from Malekith's hissy fit, and what used to be Sokovia's capital is a massive pile of rubble sitting in the middle of the European country side.

It's not like he has a bad point. Darcy's working on transcripting some of Jane's dictation during one of her late night sugar rushes while Bruce is patiently listening to Tony rant about the political nightmare the world has turned into now that no one can trust SHIELD or the World Security Council.

Sokovia had fallen, but it was only the last in a long line of superhero battles that kept escalating in property damage. Which was the reason Tony was rambling to Bruce while Darcy zones in and out of the conversation until she realizes they are talking about (or rather, Tony was lecturing about) regulating superheroes. Then she abandons all pretense of ignoring them and scoots her chair across the lab, coasting to a stop next to Bruce. "What's this I hear about a superhero babysitter's club?"

Tony blinks rapidly at her, as if realizing she was in the room for the first time. (Which was probably true.) "This is Avenger stuff, Boo. A little above your pay grade."

"Wooow," Darcy drawls snidely as Bruce rolls his eyes. "Gee, it's almost like I don't have a B.A. in political science and currently going to school part time to get my masters in the very same field. And it's certainly not like I volunteer to assist with political campaigns--which, by the way, does not consist of cold-calling everyone in the district that is gerrymandered as fuck, but actually providing input on the campaign itself. Hey, there's your proof of my political science cred; the fact that I know what gerrymandering is. So go ahead and tell me how it's above my pay grade, _Boo_."

Darcy pauses for a breath, then gives Tony a vicious smirk. "Better call DUM-E, because your argument just went down in flames." Bruce chuckles and they share a fist-bump.

"Okay, all right, someone's playing with the big boys now." Tony raises his eyebrows, smirking slightly. "So what do you think about assigning the Avengers a babysitter in the form of an international council?"

"Hmm." She taps her fingers against her lips as she thinks about it. "What do you think about the UN?" Tony shrugs, clearly indifferent to the international organization. "The UN is only as effective as the countries that acknowledges it. If they issue an economic sanction against a country, the worst they can do is ask other countries in the UN to enforce it. The power of the UN is that it's a bunch of independent countries agreeing to exclude anyone they disagree with like the popular kids ganging up on the nerdy kid."

Tony scowls at her. "So what's your point? Where are you going with this?"

Darcy shrugs, pushing her glasses up on her nose. "What's going to happen to someone who disagrees with you?"

"They go into a time-out. Stick their nose in a corner, ground them for a month or two, garnish their allowance." Tony waves his hand in a specifically non-specific gesture.

"Okaaaay." She draws out the syllables into a long sigh. "How is that going to encourage people to register?"

The genius billionaire's blank look is sweet-sunshine-child levels of adorable in it's naivete. "Because they'll want to avoid being grounded," he says slowly, as if the answer is obvious.

"Hmph." Darcy shakes her head. "Come on Tony, I know political science is a soft science-" (ignoring the dismissive scoffing noise, thank-you-very-much) "-but you need to put that analytical mind to work and start thinking three steps ahead. What if being registered means that their family will be targeted?"

"Then don't fight crime!" Said analytical genius says, scowling at her. "Leave it to the professionals!"

She shakes her head again. "Said by someone who's been able to rely on the authorities to do the right thing all the time. And respond in a timely manner. You're asking people with powers and the ability to do the right thing to just sit on their laurels or risk everyone they know and love if they want to help. How is that the right answer?"

"People want accountability!" Tony shouts, throwing his hands above his head. "They want answers when their loved ones are hurt and their homes are destroyed!"

"I'm not arguing that, Tony." Darcy shouts back before slumping back in her chair and continuing in a quieter tone. "I'm just saying that there will be people who operate outside the new law. There's no way something like this will go down without any resistance. How you handle those people is going to be pretty damn important on the way forward. "

Bruce nods. "She's got a good point, Tony. The other guy already causes massive property damage wherever he goes. I'm not really looking forward to putting my name out there for the hundreds if not thousands of insurance companies looking to collect from me over something that happened when I was big and green."

Tony waves his objections off. "If anyone tried to come after you, they'd be buried in lawyers before the ink on their precious little claims dried."

Bruce and Darcy exchange a long-suffering glance of dismay.

"What about Spider-man?" Darcy asks, only to be met with a blank look. She pulls up a YouTube vido on her phone and shows it to them. They watch the red and blue masked superhero swing onto the scene and rescue a store owner from a vicious beat-down by the local organized crime representatives. "He's out there trying to make his neighborhood a better place. But you've never heard of him before. What if he doesn't register? Are you willing to make him a criminal just because he doesn't want to show his face?"

"And Thor," Bruce points out, while Darcy nods firmly in support. "He's not even from our world. How is this new registration law going to affect literal aliens?"

Tony sputters for a bit, struggling to regain his argumentative footing against the united front of Bruce and Darcy. After a moment of letting him hang, Bruce speaks up in a comforting voice. "Maybe this is something that's needed. But it shouldn't punish people who are just trying to do good. Create a training program for new superheroes. Put together a fund to help folks affected by the latest damage done. You're a genius with software. Create a registration database that has an official Tony Stark seal of approval that no one can hack. Let them know that their information is secure."

Tony shakes his head, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Okay, you guys realize that I'm not personally in charge of this legislation, right? I'm doing what I can, but I don't control this thing. It's going to happen."

Darcy rises from her chair and moves to Tony's side, laying a hand on his arm. "Okay, buddy, we hear you. This is the kind of thing that people have to keep in mind when they talk about registering superpowers." She meets his dark brown eyes with the crows' feet carving deep lines into his face thanks to the constant anxiety, and smiles warmly in an attempt at reassurance. "You have Scrooge McDuck levels of money and an entire floor of legal staff. Put them to work on this and leave it to the subject matter experts. Don't think you have to solve every problem personally."

Tony looks away into the corner of the lab, folding his arms across his chest. "I can do something about it. Why shouldn't I?"

Bruce leans forward in his chair, pinning Tony with a direct, no-nonsense stare. "Why should the law punish everyone who thinks the same way?" He asks, and his question hits Tony like an arrow directly to the heart, sending the man stumbling back on his heels.

After that discussion, it's no surprise to Darcy (or Tony, really) when Hulk steals a Quinjet and takes off for parts unknown.

Meanwhile, Thor is tortured by thoughts greater than their petty Earth squabbles, dreams of a world drowned in fire. Privately, Darcy wonders if he would even realize when the Sokovia Accords ever took affect. After all, if he choses to, he could disappear from this world in a moment. That kind of instantaneous transportation makes any attempt at enforcing law a moot point.

So when the Sokovia Accords are officially announced and Iron Man faces off against Captain America in Berlin, Darcy isn't surprised. She just listens to Jane vent about the ramifications of the agreement, nodding, as if she hadn't already made the very same arguments before.

There's a hidden side to the Sokovia Accords that Darcy hadn't anticipated, though. Jane is a target now, thanks to her work on the Einsten-Rosen bridge. Her intellect isn't classified at super-human levels like Tony or Forge (but any hint that Jane's intellect is less than theirs and Darcy immediately goes into Mama-Bear-Fight-Me-Bro! mode. She's fairly certain the super-human intellect test criteria are extremely sexist) but Jane still knows things that are extremely important. Vital to national security, even. As a result, after the Accords are put into place, Jane (and therefore Darcy) is moved to Tony's labs, located in what used to be Avengers Tower, before they moved to the compound upstate.

Another unfortunate hidden side to the Sokovia Accords is that now it's just Tony and Jane puttering about the lab and snarking half-heartedly at each other, dutifully ignoring the giant Bruce-shaped hole in the lab.


	4. The Last Visit to Asgard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Jane visit Asgard one last time after the breakup. Takes place between Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. No spoilers for Ragnarok. I recommend having seen T:TDW, though.

The last time Jane and Darcy go to Asgard, it's after the breakup. Thor arranges for another person to accompany them during their visit, while he's off trying to figure out what his visions of fire and death mean.

Darcy exchanges a friendly hug with Heimdall upon their arrival and promises to stop by and chat once she's settled. Then they are following their chosen escort- Volstagg, who is kind of Darcy's favorite. She hugs the big guy and asks about his family while they walk across the rainbow bridge leading to Asgard. Jane trails behind them, smiling at Darcy's exhuberance while the other woman laughs over Volstagg's youngest child's efforts to master the same weapon that their father wielded on the battlefield.

"There's little Rolfe running for the training dummy," Volstagg chuckled, "with an axe as tall as he is, but twice as heavy. He tried taking a swing..." The large Asgardian mimes a heavily exaggerated swing. "And misses! The swing carries him two full rotations before he finally loses his balance." He spins around with more grace than his frame would suggest before falling down onto the shimmering surface of the bridge. "The axe goes one way-" he flings one arm off into the distance where water rushes over the cliff edge- "and little Rolfe tumbles into the grass. He looks up at me and says 'There was a smeerp over there that was going to eat you. I just saved your life, Papa.'"

Darcy laughs and asks after the rest of Volstagg's family. Jane thinks that if she asked, Darcy would be able to name all of Volstagg's many (many, many, many) children, as well as his son- and daughter-in-laws and grandchildren. Initially, Darcy had been presented to the people of Asgard as Jane's handmaiden. However, once Jane integrated herself into the scholars of the Aesir, Darcy was left to her own devices. She used the opportunity to do what she did best; get to know the people around her. Jane's pretty sure that now most of the Asgardians know of her as 'Darcy's mistress" rather than knowing Darcy as "Jane's handmaiden." Not that Jane minds at all. It means that Jane is free to spend her time doing what she enjoys most (Science!) and Darcy is free to spend her time doing what she enjoys most (being friends with everyone).

(Well, not everyone.)

Previously during the few times the Midgardian women had visited Asgard, Thor escorted them around and ran interference between them and Odin. This time, however, Odin insisted on throwing a fete in their honor on the last night of their visit. They sat by his side through the feast and following entertainment, making awkward short conversation that was supplemented with long awkward silences. The Allfather seemed to be lonely, and Darcy felt sorry for the elder Asgardian. He'd lost his wife and his (adopted) son in one fell swoop and his other son was now roaming the universe on some quest or another. Did the ruler have anyone he could rely on in Thor's absence?

Each time Jane and Darcy tried to make their excuses and withdraw from the celebration, Odin would insist that they sit and watch another performance. His latest effort was apparently a re-enactment of the noble sacrifice (hurk) of Loki. It was still hard to believe, even though Jane had already given her a first-hand account of the events. (This was the guy who brought over alien invaders trying to conquer the world. That wasn't really the kind of character trait that leant itself to noble sacrifices.)

The longer the play goes on, the harder it is to hide her cringing, especially when compared to the enthusiastic response from the surrounding onlookers. Darcy leans over and whispers in Jane's ear during Loki's ten-minute long death scene; "The acting is soooo bad, Janey. Basic cable would blow their minds." They share smothered giggles behind their hands while Loki gasps his last breath for the third time. "We'd have to save HBO and Showtime for the graduate-level students." She pauses for a moment, then huffs a laugh and shakes her head. "Then again, they're pretty much Game of Thrones IRL, so maybe this is the Asgardian version of vegging out." The women share another round of poorly hidden laughter that is quickly stifled when Odin gives them the side-eye.

"Lady Jane," Odin rumbles, accepting the fresh drink offered to him and lifting it in their direction before taking a sip. "Would you care to share your opinion on tonight's entertainment?"

Jane glances back at Darcy, her open mouth gaping like a fish during feeding time. "I, um," she stammers, searching for the right phrase that will satisfy whatever unspoken question it is the old man is asking.

Darcy looks at Odin, who doesn't bother looking in her direction. His attention is focused on Jane like a laser, and she realizes with a flash of insight that Jane's opinion about this play is actually important to him. She grabs Jane's arm with both her hands, sending telepathic messages to her friend to please, please, _please_ be super-sickly-sweet about how totally awesome the play was.

"It's like we were actually there," Jane says, smiling weakly under his intense gaze. The women simultaneously hold their breath while waiting for his reaction.

Odin blinks once, twice, then leans back into his chaise lounge thingie and smiles. "That is good to hear." Finally, _finally_ , they are allowed respite from the constant onslaught of the Asgardian's version of entertainment (seriously, these people need to learn the wonders of streaming services) and pack their things before retiring for the night. Tomorrow, they'll head back to Earth-slash-Midgard so that Jane can take the latest round of quantum-science-stuff she's learned and apply it to her work. And Darcy will sit in the lab and try to come up with a subject for her thesis before she ages out of her graduate program.

The encounter percolates in the back of her mind, though. Something about it strikes her as odd, and since reading people is something she considers her natural talent, she picks at the memory and prods at it until it makes sense. The answer, when it hits her, is just so simple. Odin had been asleep when the Dark Elves attacked and after he'd woken up half his family was gone. This terrible play was the only way he had to remember his lost loved ones. Even if it was literally the worst play ever, he would Jane to verify that the events depicted actually happened and the sacrifices taken weren't in vain. The moment was important, because in that instant Odin the Allfather, most powerful of Asgardians, had _needed_ Jane to be his friend. And Janey had been every bit of the friend he needed because she was just that awesome.

The next time Darcy sees Jane, she envelopes the tiny scientist in a full body bear-hug. "You're awesome," Darcy grins as she lets her friend go and spies the confused wide-eyed stare. "It's been a while since I told you. Just thought I would let you know."

"Thanks," Jane says, drawing the word out into multiple syllables. "You told me that last week."

"Oh!" Had she? Oh yeah, she had. "It's still true."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Darcy. The truth will come out eventually, and she'll look back at this moment and be like "I was so naive!"
> 
> The word "smeerp" comes from TVTropes 'Call a Rabbit a Smeerp' page.


	5. Learning Confidence Tricks for the Betterment of Mankind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy would like to learn how to con people, please and thank you.

"Natashaaaa," Darcy sang, bending backwards over the couch back until her head rested on the cushoin next to the red-headed spy's thigh, her hips resting on the back of the furniture and leaving her legs to dangle, her toes just brushing the expensive hardwood floor. "Teach me how to con people."

Natasha looked away from her book, her only reaction to the request a slow blink. Darcy liked to think that was how the super spysassin showed her affection, like cats did. That's why she liked to reply back with slow, exaggerated blinks of her own.

"Pleeeease," Darcy punctuated the request by throwing an arm over Natasha's legs and snuggling her face up against Natasha's knee. "This is a skill set I would very much like to acquire."

At that, Natasha's brow furrowed and the corners of her lips pulled down into a deep frown. "Why?" She asked, tucking her bookmark into her book and setting it aside on the nearby table.

Darcy glanced away, chewing on her bottom lip for a moment as she hesitated. "Because I want to be someone who gets things done. It's hard to do that in politics if you don't have Stark-levels of money backing you, so I want to learn how to convince people to agree with me."

"And do what you want." Natasha said. It wasn't a question. Darcy looked up at her with large brown eyes and nodded solemnly. The Avenger heaved a long sigh and lifted a hand to pet at the younger woman's hair as she thought. "Why not ask Stark to give you the financial backing that you lack?"

The reply to her question was a sardonically raised eyebrow and a huff of disbelief. "And be put in his pocket for whenever he feels like using someone to do something he wants? No, thank you."

"Yet you wish to have the skills to use people as tools in the very same manner, just with obligations other than financial." Natasha pointed out.

Darcy made a face, one that indicated she was aware of the hypocrisy but determined to push forward anyway. "I promise to use my powers only for good?"

"Oh, sweet thing," Natasha murmured, continuing to pet Darcy's hair, letting the curls tangle around her fingers. "That's what every supervillain thinks."

The intern huffed an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes. "Okay, fine, I promise that if I lose control and go rogue that you hereby have permission to end my reign of terror. It's not like I would ever be able to out-con you anyway."

Natasha smiled, a cat's smile full of secrets. "And yet you try," she replied with no little bit of pride. "I have no doubts you will try to make the world a better place. But most cons are short, aimed at making the victim give up his money before he realizes what's wrong. You will need to perfect the art of putting people in your favor. You will need to learn to sway them to your side even when they leave your grasp in order to have any lasting effect. This, I can teach you."

Darcy blinked (her exaggerated cat blink of love) and grinned widely. "And when I want to pull a short-term con to rob someone blind?"

"Clint can teach you those child's games," the beautiful red-head airily waved the hand that wasn't petting at Darcy's curls. "Those are the games children cut their teeth on while in the circus, no matter where the circus is."

"Cool." Darcy shifted until she was more firmly entwined with Natasha, reveling in the attention. "The first thing I want to do is con Maria into accept all my paperwork without revisions. I'm tired of having every other thing questioned, like she hasn't ever had to clean up after Avenger-related shenanigans before."

Natasha chuckled, a soft noise that had Darcy smiling with pride. "I believe we can do that. What is her main point of contention when asking for these revisions?"

"She thinks I over-exaggerate things. I have to show her actual video footage from the lab before she'll believe me most of the time!" Darcy used the arm that wasn't wrapped around Natasha's legs to move in wild, sweeping gestures in order to appropriately communicate her incredulity. "If I came to you and told you that Tony and Jane had created a communication line to an alien who spoke almost entirely in late 80s slash early 90s slang, what would you say?"

Natasha thought about it for a couple of seconds. "I would not be surprised," she admitted after a short pause.

Darcy's free hand flew in a circle that encompassed her and Natasha as she raised her eyebrows so high they threatened to disappear into her hairline. "Exactly! But Maria needs to know what slang terms were used, how I knew what timeframe they were from, and every word Tony and Jane exchanged with the alien, despite the fact that there are audio logs of the event that FRIDAY is absolutely capable of transcribing, in like, a heart beat, rather than the hours it takes me."

The international agent of mystery 'hmmm'ed in contemplation, staring off into the distance with an unfocused gaze. After a moment, she turned her attention back to Darcy. "This seems to stem from a lack of trust."

"I don't know why she doesn't trust me," Darcy grumbled as the aches of her awkward position started to make themselves known through twinges in her back muscles. "Every damn time I write the report, it's pretty much exactly what happened. She just double- and triple-checks everything."

"I do not think you are the source of her misgivings." Sensing Darcy's discomfort, Natasha lifted her hand and leaned away, giving Darcy the space to rearrange herself so she was right-side up and sitting on the couch in the manner it was designed for. "I would not be surprised if Stark is the reason for these safety measures, rather than your report writing capabilities." Natasha had read Darcy's reports. The intern wielded the written word like a deadly blade, turning bland bureaucratic language into a weapon crafted to strike at the heart of the reader.

"So if I can head that off, I can prevent the re-writes and save myself some time." Darcy grinned at Natasha, but the grin quickly transformed into a scowl. "I'm doing all the work there, though, not Maria."

Natasha shrugged. "All cons take work. You must determine if the payoff is worth the effort."

Darcy mulled this over, then dramatically fell into Natasha, settling so that her head rested on her friend's shoulder. "I suppose it's not too much work, but that's not really a con, is it? It's just a problem solved with a little bit of logic."

Natasha reached up and settled her arm around Darcy's shoulders. "I think you will find that approach will solve many of your problems. Con games should be saved for dire needs, otherwise you will find yourself at the wrong end of the situation once your manipulation is revealed."

"Makes sense." Darcy was silent for a minute. Then: "But seriously, Natasha, pleeeeeease? Please teach me how to con people! I might need it!"

The spy laughed, a husky rasping sound like cloth rubbing against cloth. "I do not think there is much left I could teach you. I could tell you the names of the games, but from what I've heard, you've been playing them since you were small. Those little ploys you perform when you don't want to work," Natasha elaborated at Darcy's confused glare. "I can teach you how to refine your tricks and make them more effective. But you have a natural talent for manipulation."

"...Thanks?" The brunette drawled hesitantly, her shoulders slumping inwards until it seemed like her sternum had turned into a black hole. "I think that's a compliment, right?"

Natasha rubbed Darcy's back in what was meant to be a soothing gesture. "It is fine, many people do not see their actions as manipulative without outside interference."

Darcy shot a glare at the woman next to her from underneath her lashes. The tears glimmering in the corners of her eyes sparkled in the white LED light. "This is another attempt to convince me not to learn from you."

The Black Widow allowed herself to show another small smile filled with pride. "If you want to learn to manipulate people for your own benefit, know that others have the same goal. And this is manipulation, Darcy. Become comfortable with that fact. You can disguise it with pretty or soft words, but you are bending another's will to your own."

The intern fell silent, her gaze becoming soft and unfocused as she mulled over Natasha's words. Eventually, Darcy left the other woman's side, chewing on her lip as she left, so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't even acknowledge Vision as he entered the room. (Natasha noted the small frown of disappointment on the android's face and filed it away for future reference.)

A few weeks later, when Darcy repeated her request, Natasha agreed without any argument.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every so often, someone will disagree with her, and she'll find herself thinking "I could make you do what I want." But she keeps her mouth shut because she promised Natasha that she would only use her powers for Good.


	6. After "Lab Monkey" is "Superhero Liaison"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony fires Darcy from the lab. Jane is pissed (and rightfully so).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I have absolutely no background in political science. I probably have the equivalent of -1 knowledge of it. Everything even vaguely politically related is not intended to be an in-depth discussion of...well, anything, really.

_In the beginning, a young woman stood under the cold black sky spattered with stars like a monochromatic Jackson Pollack painting and watched two geniuses wrestle with Science._

(And by wrestling with Science, she really meant watching them bicker over the schematics of a jury-rigged assortment of parts supplied by what seemed like the nation's last existing Radio Shack. But Darcy was standing in soft moonlight, in the middle of a desert, and the bitter chill was eating through her threadbare gloves. Poetry felt right.)

Eventually she'll step in and offer her opinion, which will be basic enough that it will probably jolt Eric and Jane out of their endless loop and help them fix whatever issue it is.

Darcy gets stuck with Jane in New Mexico for the science credit. Jane asks Darcy to stick around afterwards because of their burgeoning friendship (it doesn't hurt that Darcy is a freaking beast when it comes to writing grant proposals). Eric finds himself enmeshed with SHIELD while the two women are sent to Tromso. When Eric comes back to them, he's very nearly broken, the gears of his fine mind stuttering like a broken watch. Jane looks at Darcy and the two agree on a single fact without having to exchange words. _Fuck SHIELD._

It's hard to find the money to fund Jane's research. In addition to being a beast at writing the proposals, Darcy has to dig into the fine print in regards to the ownership of results. Unfortunately, she doesn't dig far enough into the sources and when the helicarriers fall in DC, Jane's major (only) source of funding turned out to be an obscure government committee whose true goal was to fund Hydra research and development.

Thor visits frequently, at first, but the visits soon grow to be fewer and far between. Jane's time on Asgard is useful; but without the resources to continue her research on Earth she accumulates knowledge faster than she can use it. Even with the additional physical evidence of the Convergence, Darcy struggles to find funding. The collapse of the World Security Council has left many nation's economies trembling, people are looking to protect themselves, but Jane refuses to let her research be used for harm. Consequently, the two survive on a diet of cheap processed food while trying to find the lab space for Jane's rickety homemade machines.

Seriously. _Fuck SHIELD._

Jane regains the funding (and more) when Tony Stark knocks on the door of their flat in London.

Some months after the team splits, Darcy's bumming around the lab, reviewing her resume while she chews on the end of a pen. It's not that she doesn't enjoy being a lab monkey, but more and more she's getting the feeling that she could be helping do some really important things if she tried putting her hard won education to work.

The pen breaks under her teeth, sending blue ink splattering all over her mouth, face, and hands. She curses and spits out the ink reflexively, which results in fine blue speckles covering her white angora (nooo!) sweater, which results in even more cursing, which results in Jane pulling her attention away from her data to laugh at Darcy's predicament so hard that she's crying and struggling to draw breath.

Darcy sighs and rubs at her face with her hand. It's only after the fact that she realizes that by doing so she's now covered the entire left side of her face with ink, and she sighs again.

This is the moment that Tony chooses to saunter into Jane's lab, wearing his business clothes (aka a perfectly tailored suit jacket that must have cost thousands of dollars over a ratty metal band shirt and grease-stained jeans), his hands tucked into his pockets. Darcy waves hello, grinning at him with what she is sure is a blue-stained mouth.

Jane is still laughing.

"Holy hell, what happened to you?" He props a hip on her desk, glancing at the resume with her name in bold font and now decorated with blue finger prints. "Is this on purpose? Is woad making a comeback, or is this an homage to Thor? I'm hurt, Darcy. I would thought you would be the president of my fan club now that Mister Thunderpants is out of the equation."

Lately, it seems, Tony's been in a better mood. So much better than the poorly disguised moping after the battle in Berlin. Darcy attributes Tony's vibrant mood to the rumors of Pepper's return. "I can be the president of both clubs," she retorts, "I'm very good at multi-tasking." Darcy idly studies the remains of her pen and wonders if there's any ink left in it at all. She starts tapping it against the arm of her chair, open end aimed at Tony. "It's sweet that you think that I would be the president of your fan club, but I think Peter might literally eat my brain from sheer jealousy. I need my brain, Tony. It's my thinky part." She smiles in satisfaction as small blue droplets start to fly from the end of the pen and land on Tony's expensive, poorly treated clothes. Jane, who had settled down somewhat, starts giggling again when she notices what Darcy is doing.

"I need your thinky parts, too, kid. That's why you're fired."

"What?!"

Twin feminine shrieks split the air and Tony hisses in pain, reaching up to rub at his ears. "Woah, easy there! Let me finish."

Jane leaves the data scrolling rapidly across a holographic screen and crosses the lab to stand in front of Tony, her arms crossed over her chest as she glares at him. "If Darcy goes, I go too," she vows. "I'm not going to-" The rest of her sentence is lost as Darcy places her entire (non-ink-stained) hand over Jane's face. She makes a 'go on' gesture with her other hand, and the last spatters of ink land on the linoleum floor. That's fine, she thinks, the ink wasn't even really showing up on his dark jeans.

"Thank you. As I was saying, you're fired."

"Saying it again is not making me feel better, Tony. Get to the point where you make me feel better about losing my job and your best astrophysicist." Jane preens a little at Darcy's praise, then launches another round of mumbled insults into her friend's palm.

Tony sighs and rolls his eyes. "You said you were studying political science. I don't need a political scientist in my lab. I do need one helping me figure out how to keep the next few years from turning into a nightmare."

Darcy lets her hand fall away from Jane's mouth. Keeping it there was pointless anyway, since his suggestion had rendered them both speechless.

The billionaire waves an arm around the nearly empty lab space. "Let's face it, there's not a lot around here to keep you occupied now that Jane is the only one working here full time. Pete can do your job, and he can actually help her with her work. And you could put all that knowledge you've accumulated to use instead of letting it rot in here."

"The words you're saying are complimentary, but you keep saying them in a really offensive way," Jane states. "Is that how you think compliments work? Because that's a little bit sad."

Darcy nudges her friend lightly with her shoulder, but she doesn't disagree. "What would you have me working on instead?" She asked, relaxing know that she knew he wasn't just kicking her out of her home for the past few years.

"I want to be the pro-superhero version of the Koch brothers," Tony replies, nodding at Darcy's raised eyebrows and Jane's.... blank look.

"It's a BFD." Darcy leans over and whispers in Jane's ear. She will elaborate more later, but for now she wants to hear about Tony's ideas. "That's a little bit outside of my expertise, Tony. I've got the educational know-how, sure, but I don't have any of the practical experience. This is going to take a lot more than just one woman with a shit-ton of money backing her."

"Darcy, Darcy, Darcy." Some part of him that she didn't realise was tense relaxes when he sees that she's open to his idea. He steps over to her side and wraps an arm around her shoulders, tugging her against his side. "I would never leave you hanging in the wind without any support."

Both women snort because even after all this time he can still be self-centered enough to make such a move.

"Anyway," Tony continues loudly over their derision. "You would be one of a panel of experts for this task. Pepper, of course, has already agreed to lend her assistance and help with the initial networking to find contacts." He grins proudly. "It was even her idea. I'm just throwing money at it until it works."

"Okay, but..." Darcy hesitates, trying to figure out the best way to phrase her concerns. "You could cherry pick any political scientist you want. Why me?"

"Duh." Jane returns the shoulder nudge that Darcy had given her earlier. "What other political scientist has been with the Avengers since nearly the beginning? They all know these guys, but you know who these guys _are_." Tony is nodding in agreement on Darcy's other side. "Plus I know you, Darce. You never forget the little people, no matter how big the argument is. That's why Tony wants you. It's why anyone who's smart will want you on their side."

The sheer confidence her friends have in her is unbelievable. She huffs a sound that is half laugh, half sigh and reaches under her glasses to brush away the tears forming with the edge of her sleeve. "So when do I start this new job, and is there a turnover period for the new kid? If he's a scientist too, is he going to do the same thing as you guys and forget to take care of basic needs for days on end?"

The AI's dulcet tones sound in the lab, reminding the trio of her presence. "I will do my best to make sure that everyone's needs are taken care of in your absence, Ms. Lewis." Undercurrents of a vaguely disgruntled tone run through the synthetic voice and Darcy feels bad (not for the first time) that she hasn't been able to establish the same connection with FRIDAY that she had with JARVIS. (Though to be fair, she hasn't been able to find that connection with Vision, either. It's hard to grieve for her friend when the two of them are similar enough to continually remind her that he is gone. She tries to keep in mind that it can't be easy on them to continually be compared to someone they've never met and always found lacking.)

"There you go." Tony nods firmly at the AI's input. "We'll be well taken care of in your absence. I'm sure we'll be fine. Plus, you'll be in the same building anyway, so you can always pop in and make sure she's doing her job right."

Darcy groaned, rolling her eyes at Tony's confused look. "Oh my god, Tony, you don't say stuff like that to a person, even an AI."

"Seriously," Jane muttered. "You are so, so bad at compliments."


End file.
